Angels in Shadows
by Krys A. Night
Summary: When Ginny find Harry cheating on her, she gets her revenge, turning her back on all the people who were just saying they cared about her to her face,. Her world gets shaken up when she realizes everything has changed, and not everything is as it appears.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** Hey, I'd just like to thank you all for taking the time to read my story. I know that the summary is a little vague. I just can't say much without spoling the plot line, and we don't want that now do we.

_Disclamer_: I own only the plot line and my original character, please don't steal her, I like her. The other characters and the setting belongs to none other than J.K. Rowlings and respective publishers.

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Angels in the Shadows

**Chapter One**

Could anything be more boring than patrols, ever since the news got out that You-Know-Who was back, no one wants to leave their dorms at night. We still have Dumbledore, the only wizard that You-Know-Who supposedly fears. I shake my head, turning down another hallway, this one lined with empty classrooms. I walk along, lost in my own thoughts. I begin wondering what Harry was up to, he had disappeared before dinner, saying that he had homework to do, then never showed up for dinner. If there's anything that's predictable about him, is that he would never miss a meal to just do homework. Ever since the beginning of the school year, he's been acting differently.

Finishing my rounds, I head back to the Gryffindor Common room, running up to my dorm before settling before the fire to finish the essay for Potions in the morning. I had little under a foot to write, and I wanted it done before I went to sleep. I finish quickly, looking forward to collapsing. My foot just touches the bottom step of the girl's staircase when I heard the portrait open, and Harry's voice floats through the common room. I pause for a second, wondering what was going on.

"Did you have fun tonight, Maria?" his voice coos, and I recognize the tone.

The blood in my veins run cold.

"Why, yes I did. Do you have anything else in store for this bad girl?" the girl responds, her voice sultry.

I creep up the rest of the way to my dorm, fighting the sobs rising up in my chest, fighting with the anger. I collapse on my bed, hugging one of my pillows tight, crying silent tears. I fell asleep, the betrayal I felt in my chest solidifying into a cold desire for revenge.

"Ginny! Get up!" Angel cries, shaking one of the hangings on my four-poster.

I sit up, wondering if I really wanted to get out of bed today, maybe I could just tell her that I'm sick. No, I want to confront Harry today. I want to find out the truth. Muttering a spell under my breath I point my wand at my face, feeling the tear-stains disappear. I slide out of bed, getting changed quickly; I slip down into the common room silently. Peeking around the corner, I see Harry attached at the face to the girl I'm assuming he kept for company last night. I retreat a few steps then come stomping down like I would normally, hoping that those two got the hint and were no longer joined at the lips.

They were gone. Ginny felt the icy edge of her anger rising up in her chest yet again, and made a silent promise to herself that she would get revenge on that bloody prat before the day was through. Colin looks over at me as I walk into the great hall, a sad smile on his face.

"Hey Ginny, how were the rounds last night?" he asks me, glancing only quickly down the table at the Golden bloody trio.

"Uneventful, as always," I answer, putting some food on my plate.

"Do you know…" he starts.

"About the amazing prat and his blonde bitch?"

"How did you find out?"

"When they came in last night."

"Have you…"

"Confronted him about it yet, no. But I'm going to get my revenge on him, today."

"There's the Ginny that I know and fear. I'm behind you all the way."

Colin, one of the few people that stayed by me after my first year. Forgave me for what I had no control over.

"What do you have planned?" he asks, picking at his food.

I scan the great hall, then give a pointed glance at the Slytherin table. Colin follows my look and an evil smile graces his lips. He knew that I had something fun planned, and he didn't want to miss out on it.

"Students," Dumbledore announces from the teachers table, "we have a new student joining us. She has transferred from an American school, and I want you all to be nice to her. She has joined the ranks of the 6th year Slytherins."

A girl stands up from their table and makes a small bow towards the rest of the school. I noticed that she wasn't wearing the uniform, like the rest of us. Pushing her to the back of my mind, I start to think of what exactly I wanted to do to the great prat. The bell rang and Colin and I gathered our things and started to make our way towards Charms.

"When are you going to ask them for their help?" Colin whispers to me in the hallway.

"I think after this class. Today the Slytherins have Charms after us, and it'll be the best time to try and get a hold of them."

We walk into the classroom and take our usual seats. I was so preoccupied I barely paid attention to what Flitwick was saying. I couldn't wait until the end of the class, and my chance at revenge.

The bell rang, and I jumped, gathering my things quickly, hoping to intercept Malfoy and his gang before they could get to the Charms room, while still being on my way to potions. I was so preoccupied, I didn't notice the person in front of me until I ran into them. The first thing I noticed was the lack of a robe fluttering behind the person, and I instantly knew that it was the new girl, meaning Malfoy wasn't too far behind her.

She bent down to help me gather my scattered things, my bag had split again.

"Thank you," I mutter quickly, helping her.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little Weaslette," I heard a cold voice drawl from behind her.

I look up, and I could feel the last of my patience thinning.

"Keep talking to me like that, and I won't tell you something that will help make _Potter_'s life a living misery," I snap at him.

"I would never have thought that you would talk about the love of your life like that," he says, surprise evident in his voice.

"He's not the love of my life anymore. In fact, I want to forget that I ever dated him, but I've never been any good at memory charms. Don't want to end up like Bloody Lockhart now do I," I drawl, imitating his voice.

"Looks like we've got a firecracker on our hands," an unfamiliar voice says, a hint of a smile on her face.

"We're going to be late for class if we don't hurry up. If you have something that you would like to say to us, we'll be in the library for our free period, come see us then," Malfoy says, sweeping past us.

The new girl winks at me and follows him, the others following behind them. I mentally relaxed, I had them interested, and then it's just a short hop to getting them to agree. I felt the evil smirk on my face as I hurried down into the dungeons for Potions. One of my favorite classes, Snape never treated me like the other Gryffindors, but then again, he was the one to try and help me after my first year, when almost everyone else was ignoring me, including my family. In that year, he became more like my Father than my real Father. He gives me a smile with his eyes, that turn serious when I don't return the gesture. not wanting to blow his cover in front of the rest of the class, he acts like he's ignoring me, until the end of class. Waiting until I had already handed in my sample of the potion that we had been making, the potion of dreams, he acts like he's inspecting my spotless cauldron, looking for an excuse to keep me after class.

I wait behind as the others file out, giving me pitying looks. When the last one leaves, he closes the door with a motion of his hand.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" he asks, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

"That bloody prat, that's what's wrong," I answer under my breath.

"Is it Draco again. I would have thought that he would be too busy catching up with his old chum to be bothering you much," he hisses, his voice hard.

"No, it wasn't him. Harry bloody Potter, that's who."

I could feel the surprised look on his face, in all the time that he has known me, I've always stuck up for Potty and his friends.

"What did he do?" Snape asks.

"He cheated on me last night. And I have the feeling that it wasn't the first time that he's done it," I answer.

"Do you want me to do something about it?" he asks, looking for a reason to go after the golden trio.

"I think that I've gotten it covered. But you could be on hand to dock lots of points from Harry and Ron, if they react the way that I think that they are going to."

I could feel his look of surprise. The one thing that I've never told anyone, was that I was supposed to have been sorted into Slytherin. I just wanted to bad to be a little family girl, be in Gryffindor with Harry and the rest of my family. I'm regretting that choice now. If only I could go back in time.

"May I leave? I have to meet others from your house in the library, if I play my cards right, they're going to help me get my revenge," I say to him, picking my bag up off of the floor.

"This is a question that I've been meaning to ask, and it's ever so strong in you now. Were you meant to be in Slytherin?" he asks as I walk out of the door.

Looking back over my shoulder, I decide to give him the truth, "yes."

Hurrying up to the library, I see the Golden Trio sitting off to one side, their heads buried in books. I glare in their direction. An evil smirk on my face, I turn to face the Slytherins on the other side of the library. They look up at me when I come over.

"Would you mind if I talked to you all where certain prying ears won't be able to hear us?" I ask casually.

They look at each other and nod, getting up from their table, packing things away. I went out into the corridor to wait for them, the new girl coming out first.

"I don't think that we've been properly introduced, my names Ash," she says, holding her hand out to me.

I take it, and a strange feeling shoots up my arm. I cover the shocked look on my face, looking into Ash'. There was no indication that she had felt what I had. The rest came out of the library and started to make their way to the 5th floor. I had the feeling that we were going to the Room of Requirement. The door appeared and we all walked in, Ash perching herself on the edge of a table.

"Does anyone mind?" she asks aloud, holding up a pack of cigarettes.

A chorus of 'no's goes through the room, and she lights one, taking a long drag, with a slightly happy look on her face, I didn't understand how anyone could get enjoyment out of something so vile.

"So, what did you need us to come here for?" Malfoy asks the apparent leader.

"I want revenge," I say vehemently. Everyone in the room started to go for their wands, "Oh stop it, I don't mean out of you guys. I want revenge on the prat Potty and his wee little side-kicks."

Malfoy looks over my shoulder, and it takes me a second to realize that he's looking at Ash. I look over my shoulder to see her staring at me intently. She takes another drag off of her cigarette, lifting her chin before blowing a series of smoke rings.

"Well, you're speaking our language. What do you want us to do?" Ash says.

"Not even here one day, and you have Malfoy answering to you. You have to tell me your secret," I tease, a smirk on my face.

"An old friendship," she answers cryptically sliding off of the table.

She went over to the window in the room and stretched. Her shirt rode up a little bit, and I could see the faint tracing of a tattoo on her back before she stopped. Glancing down at her watch, she had a few minutes before she had to get to her next class, and she wanted to get some homework done.

"I'll fill you guys in on the details later, I need to run," I say, heading towards the door.

Out in the hallway, I let the evil smile come through. I headed off towards the divination tower, smile still in place.

Draco stood up, looking at the others in the room with a pointed glare. They all got the hint and left the room, following Weasley.

"She's one of us," Ash says, as the door shut behind the lat of them.

"How do you know for sure?" I ask, my voice cold out of habit.

"We shook hands. You remember what you felt the first time that we touched. It was that, but firey. She's fire."

"Who's going to be the last two?"

"I don't know yet."

She rummages in her pocket for a second, taking out her pack, offering me one. I take it and light it off of the end of my wand, as she lights hers from the one that was almost finished.

"I actually managed to quit without you around," I tell her, teasing light in my voice, "disgusting habit and all. I heard that these things could kill you."

Her laughter sounded like breaking glass. She turned back to the window, and I noticed the tension in her shoulder blades.

"What's wrong?" I ask her, we knew each other too well for me not to notice that something was wrong.

"Him," she spat out, and I instantly knew who she meant. The thing that called itself her Father.

"Do you still wear it?" I had to ask.

The sad smile on her face was enough of an answer. Her hand unconsciously came up to touch the scarf that she was wearing.

"I'm sick of it all," she mutters.

"We all are," I answer, "we all are."

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Thank you for reading, please review .


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry that it took me so long to update this, but I am back in college again, and the work load is crazy. Lit majors do not have it easy, let me tell you. As it just happens, both of the classes that I had today were cancelled, so ya'll got lucky there.

I'd like to thank all the people who have read this, and have left me reviews, even if you didn't leave me a review, thanks for reading . hope you enjoy the next chapter.

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Chapter Two

I saw them leaning against the wall from my last class, and I had to fight the smile on my face. The rest of them weren't there, only Ash and Malfoy. They look over at me as I come out of the room, and immediately take up positions on either side of me. I could feel the curious stares of the people in the hallway, wondering what two Slytherins were doing walking down the hallway with a Gryffindor.

"What's up guys?" I ask.

"Well, that little plan that you have, if you want to do it before dinner then you have to tell us what it is that you want us to do, and maybe get our input, seeing as how we all know what makes the Golden Trio, Potty especially, tick," Malfoy says.

They escort me out of the castle to a tree near the banks of the lake, the others sitting there and waiting. The crowd was bigger than it had been in the Room of Requirement.

"What's up with all the people?" I ask, a little nervous.

"Well, Snape came into the common room telling everyone that you wanted to get revenge on Potty for something, and these are the people that we selected out of the volunteers," Ash says, "looks like he's managed to get himself enemies in powerful places."

As we walked over, the people clustering under the tree look up with an expectant look on their face. And the cold anger inside of me gave a little jump for joy. This is going to be so much fun. Malfoy and Ash both lean against the tree, looking at me like the others were, and I knew that this was going to go better than I thought that it would.

"Well, I want to make Potter jealous, really jealous. Show him what he had, that he so casually threw away," I say.

"And I guess that I'm part of that plan," Malfoy says, and I nod at him.

"Ash, if you don't mind asking me, why aren't you following the schools dress code?" I ask her.

"Dumbledore told me not to worry about it for the first week. Considering that it's a Hogsmeade weekend he told me that I could get the appropriate robes then," she answers, lighting a cigarette.

She pushes off of the tree and walks in a circle around me, giving me an appraising look that raised the hair on the back of my neck.

"We're about the same size," she comments off hand, "and since the dress code says that you just have to wear the tie and the robes, who says that you have to wear the exact uniform."

I caught onto her train of thinking.

"As long as it's a skirt and a button down shirt, there's nothing else in the dress code that says what we have to wear," I say, and evil smirk on my face.

"That was your last class, correct?" she asks.

I nod at her, and her smirk matches mine.

I begin to outline the plan to them, and they all caught on rather quickly. Some of them calling out their own suggestions, and after thinking about it, I knew that this was going to be great. The meeting came to an end, and Ash put her arm over my shoulders. I felt the friendly affection flowing from her. She led me down into the dungeons, through the common room where the others were spreading the plan to everyone else. And I realized then, that Slytherin wasn't as bad as I thought it was. They all stood together, against an outside threat, all petty disagreements put aside for the moment.

She led me up a flight of stairs to the girls dorms, throwing open her wardrobe, motioning for me to take a seat on the bed.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask her, "as far as I know, you don't have a personal grudge against Potty and the Golden Trio."

"Things aren't what they seem," she mutters, her hand going to her throat.

I notice for the first time that she's wearing a scarf. I knew that the castle was cold, but not that cold. The weather was quite nice in my own opinion.

"Why are you wearing that scarf?" I ask.

"My own reasons," she answers.

With a little a ha, she pulls out what she had been looking for. It was a button down shirt, like the dress code dictated, but it was artfully ripped in places to show skin of the stomach, and a hint of cleavage. She handed it to me, and then motioned for me to get changed. I loosen the tie at my neck, unbuttoning the shirt that I had been wearing to put this one on. She watches me appraisingly, then goes back into her wardrobe, coming up with a skirt, putting it on the bed for me to change into.

When I finish, she gives a low whistle then moves away from in front of the mirror. I stared at the girl staring back at me. The shirt showed hints of a flat toned stomach and milky white flesh, contrasting nicely with the black shirt. The skirt was the same length as the one that I had been wearing, with belts hanging from it, bringing nice attention to my legs. Slipping the tie back on, I could help but think that a green and silver tie would go so much better with this outfit than my red and gold one.

She motioned for me to turn slowly, and I couldn't help but admire the way that I look. She slips her shirt over her head, and turns her back to me. I couldn't help but wince at the web of scars across her back, crossing the beautiful tattoo on her back. Slipping into a button down shirt and skirt, she turns back to me.

"Ready?" she asks.

"As I'll ever be," I answer.

She leads the way back down into the common room, and I noticed Snape was sitting on one of the couches. He stood up when I walked into the room, giving me an appraising look.

"The outfit suits you, the tie doesn't," he says, his voice silky, "if what the common room is buzzing about, Gryffindor is not the house that you should be in."

"I think that I already told you what house I was supposed to be in," I say casually.

"Yes, and I confirmed the matter with the sorting hat," he replies.

"What do you mean?" I ask, trying to keep the hope out of my voice.

"Well, Dumbledore said that the choice was up to you. Professor McGonagall said that she would support that."

"So, you're telling me that I can be in Slytherin?"

"If that is what you so desire."

I stand there, thinking about it. I could walk out on Gryffindor, and all the high-handed beliefs that it held. The unquestioning adoration of the Prat. Get under his skin even more by walking out on him, into the arms of their archenemies.

"It is," I say, knowing that it was where I was meant to be.

He nods, and I could see the smile on his lips, "your things will be moved after dinner."

Ash' arm lands across my shoulders, "Welcome to Slytherin."

The rest of the Slytherin common room had grins on their faces, a side of themselves that they dared not show the rest of the school. Snape reaches into a pocket of his robe and pulls out a silver and green tie, handing it to her with a small kiss on her cheek.

"Welcome to Slythering, Ginerva," he says softly before exiting the room.

I slip the tie into my pocket, already working it into my plan. The bell rang, signaling that it was time to go to dinner. I close the front of my robes, nod to the others and slip out of the common room. They waited a heartbeat, and then followed her out into the hallway.

Pausing in front of the door to the Great Hall, she slips inside, her face flushed and angry. The rest of the Slytherins come in behind her, led by Malfoy and Ash. She knew that the prats assumed that the reason she was angry was because of them, and they settled back into their meals, trying to ignore the scene that they were making.

She took her usual seat next to Harry, fighting the nausea at being so close to him. He looks up from his plate and tries to put his arm around her, pull her closer to him. She avoids his touch like the plague.

"Do not touch me," I hiss at him.

He gives me a confused look, but I see his eyes stray to the blonde farther down the table. This was the opening that I was looking for. Taking a deep breath, I level the glare that I learned from Mother at him.

"So, the rumors are true then! You are cheating on me!" I yell, loud enough to get everyone's attention. I felt the eyes of the Slytherin on my more than I felt anyone else's eyes. This was the cue that they were looking for.

"What? No! I would never," he tries to cover, looking embarrassed.

"Don't bother trying to deny it, I saw you two in the common room last night," I continue.

Ron looks up from his food, something that I never thought that he would do, and Hermione shoots me a glare to tell me to quit making a scene out of myself.

"So what if he sleeps around a little bit, Gin. It's not like you told him that it was going to be an exclusive relationship," Ron says, automatically siding with Harry.

"And what business is it of yours, who shares my bed or not?" Harry snarls.

"I'm supposed to be your bleeding girlfriend, Harry. Does that mean nothing to you?" I snarl back.

"Well, apparently it meant more to you than it did to me," he answers, his green eyes crackling, "but since you have no proof of this, then we will finish this after dinner, in the common room."

I look around at all of the other Gryffindor's faces, and I could tell that one by one, they all sided with Harry, even though he was the one being unfaithful. I throw myself backwards over the bench, years of Quidditch training keeping me from falling on my arse.

"No Harry, there will be no discussion later. I saw you with my own eyes, this relationship is over. I wash my hands of you," I snarl, reaching up and yanking off the Gryffindor tie and throwing it in his face, shucking my robe and throwing it on the floor. I make to storm out of the room, and Ash stops me before I could reach the end of their table. She rests an easy arm around my shoulders, and I could feel the glare of The bloody prats, and the stares of the rest of the school.

She pushes me into the seat that she had vacated next to Malfoy, sending a glare down the bench. They all hurried to move down one so that she could sit down again. He leaned down like he was whispering in my ear.

"When you took that robe off, I thought that Potty's eyes were going to pop out of his head," he whispers, and I laughed easily.

"I do have Ash to thank for this outfit. I find myself wondering if she'll let me raid her closet more," I answer, looking over at her.

"I think that it could do that," she answers me.

"If you don't mind me asking, where did you get it?" Pansy leans over to ask.

"Made it," she answers her.

"You design clothes?" Pansy asks, a gleam in her eyes.

"Yes, I do. Didn't have much else to do in my spare time," she replies cryptically.

Malfoy sets a plate down front of me, filled with food. I shoot him a suspicious glance.

"We wouldn't poison anyone, at least, anyone in our house," he says smoothly.

I look up when there's movement on the other side of the table. Potty the wonder boy and my brother were standing there, Potty was holding my robe and tie out to me. I glare at him but he doesn't falter.

"Come back where you belong, Gin," he says, holding the clothes out to me.

I make it look like I was thinking about it. Reaching out, I take the robe and empty out my pockets onto the table. Picking up the green and silver tie over my head, I put it on.

"But I am where I belong," I say smoothly.

Ron looks from my tie to my face, turning red.

"What do you bloody think you're doing?" he all but screams at me, "wait 'til what mum and dad hear that you've done. They'll bloody disown you."

"They did all but that once they found out what happened to me after my first year. Thinking that I should have stopped it, that I should have been stronger. If you took your head out of your arse, then I think that you'dve seen it too," I say back to him, deadly calm.

"They must've done something to you. They must've cast some spell to make you think like this," Harry mutters under his breath, taking his wand out of his robes.

Ron follows Harry's lead, leveling his wand at my face. The Slytherin table rises to their feet, but before anyone could be hexed, Snape glides over, a sinister smile on his face.

"What's this boys? Are you harassing the newest Slytherin?" He says in a silky calm voice, his dark eyes cold.

"We were just wondering why my sister is sitting with the snakes, and not in Gryffindor like she'd been sorted," Ron says, glaring at the Professor.

"That, Mr. Weasley, is something that you'll have to talk to Dumbledore about, if your sister has not told you," he says.

I duck quickly as a spell flies over my head, and I glare at Potty.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor for trying to hex another student. And I think that a week's worth of detentions with Filch as well," he sneers.

The boys glare in my direction, then slink back to the Gryffindor table. I let loose the breath that I wasn't aware that I had been holding. I realize that Potty had left my tie and robe on the table, in the hopes that I would take them. I stand up, Ash and Malfoy standing as well. Leaving the Great Hall I keep my chin high, fighting the laughter bubbling up inside of me. Once down in the dungeons safely, I let loose the laughter that I had been holding in.

"You make a damn good Slytherin, glad to have you in our house Ginerva," Malfoy says, resting a light hand on my back.

"Thank you," I answer.

We go into the common room together. I say good night to the two of them, heading up into the girls dorms to get my stuff settled in.

"I would never have thought that she had it in her. Go against Potty and the weasel," I say, sitting in a chair before the common room fire.

"She does have guts. And is cunning as hell," Ash answers, sitting in a chair.

She pulls out a cigarette and lights it. I reach over and pluck it from her hand. She glares at me and lights another one. We sit there in silence for a few minutes.

"Do you think she knows?" I ask her.

"About what she is? I don't think that she knows," she answers.

"Shame that. When are you going to tell her?"

"In time, let her get settled into life as a Slytherin first, and then I'll talk to her about it."

She conjures and ashtray with her wand, flicking her ashes into it.

"What do you think that she meant by almost being disowned by what happened her first year?" She asks me finally.

"I really don't know. Can't say I paid that much attention to her that year," I answer, "I was too busy trying to figure out who the Heir of Slytherin was."

"Right, all that stuff with the Basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets," she mutters under her breath.

"Why did you tell Dumbledore that you were in America?"

"The best way to explain why I wasn't here the first day of the first year. I don't think that I want to tell him where I really was."

"Isn't there going to be a transcript or something that has to be transferred?"

"Forged one."

"Right. Shouldn't have brought it up."

She gets up and stretches.

"Think that I'm going to go up and call it a night too," she says.

"Night, death," I say absent-mindedly.

"Don't say that where innocent ears can hear you," she whispers, going up the stairs.

I look around sheepishly, before heading up to my dorm as well.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm sorry that this took so long for me to get up.

Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to J.K. Rowling

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I wake up, feeling an excitement that I hadn't felt in a while. The first Hogsmeade trip of the year and I was looking forward to spending the day with Draco and Ash. I slip out of bed, rummaging through my trunk looking for something to wear.

"Ginerva, do you really intend to wear those rags?" Ash asks, standing in front of her wardrobe.

I look down at all of the hand me downs from my brothers, and the thought of wearing something that they had became unappealing.

"It's really all I have though," I answer, "I feel a little bad that I'm always borrowing your clothes and wearing them. I don't really have enough to buy myself a new wardrobe."

"I don't mind, I like seeing how you look in my clothes. As for money, how about I make you some. Heavens knows I don't have a shortage of money and I have a few things already in mind," she mutters, making a vague motion at a sketchpad sitting on her desk.

As she tosses an outfit on my bed for me to wear, I wander over and look at the page it was open to. I felt a smile on my face, the outfit was great, and it fit the style that I was growing into. Looking up to say so to her, I see the scars on her back again as she slips a shirt over her head, I walk up to her silently and trace one before the shirt falls into place.

"Who did this to you?" I mutter aloud.

"Someone who is dead, but he just doesn't know it yet," she snarls.

I pull my hand back at her tone of voice, it was one that I have never heard her take before, and it sent small chills up my spine. Through that tone alone I could see why Draco held her in small awe.

She faces me, a smirk on her face, "are you going to get dressed, or going to go in you pajamas?"

I make a show of spinning in front of her, "I don't really think that I'd fit in with you two though."

I pull my clothes off, putting on the outfit that she had laid out for me. I knew that she had designed these clothes with herself in mind, but they did look great on me. The pants were like nothing I have ever worn before, they were closer to the shape of the leg at the top, but got slowly larger until I couldn't see my feet, two chains hanging from loops sewn into the fabric. I took a step and the chains clink, sounding like a perverted version of a bell.

"Definitely going to make you a pair of those," she mutters looking at me.

"Still enough to turn the head of Potty wee Potter?" I ask.

She just smirks at me. She still hadn't told me what she held against him, but she was enjoying getting her revenge. She lays her arm across my shoulders and we walk out of the room. The 

small part of me that was still Gryf marvels at how these snakes can all get along so well. With the power plays and everything else that this house is known for, it had a friendly edge that could turn if you made the smallest misstep.

"I thought that you two would take forever," Draco drawls from the foot of the stairs as we descend.

"We just like making you wait," Ash replies her voice teasing.

Draco smirks at her, "I'll keep that in mind then."

We make our exit from the dungeons, just in time to see the bloody golden trio making their way towards the main doors as well. Potty spots me, and I can see his expression fall at the company that I was keeping. There was something going on in that pitiful mind of his, and I had the feeling that I would find out what it was soon enough.

The October air was cool but not yet a full autumn cold. I took a deep breath, glad to be outside of that stuffy castle. The students around us took a big step to the side when they saw us coming. In a week I became the most hated person in Hogwarts, and they would have made it much more known if Ash or Draco weren't close by ready with hexes, as well as my own.

I spot Colin moving with a bunch of stuck-ups. Other than the Slytherins, he and Luna were the only ones who were not shunning me. Guess I have to count my lucky stars that my plan didn't estrange me from them either. I made a mental note to take them aside and ask them if they were willing to come down to the dungeons to hang out.

"Shall we," Draco asks, motioning for us to step into one of the waiting carriages.

He held the door while Ash and I stepped inside of it. Once inside, he turns to Ash and gives her a meaningful glare that I couldn't figure out. She rolls her eyes and just motions for him to be patient.

"When did you guys say you met again?" I ask.

"When we were eight or nine," Draco answers, "her parents had got caught up in something so she was living with us for a while."

I open my mouth to ask something when Ash just stares at me. In her black eyes, she was requesting that I not ask any more questions like that, something told me that I would find everything out soon anyway. I turn and look out of the window, wondering why even these two were keeping their secrets from me.

In Hogsmeade, Ash began to make her way towards Gladrags to get her robes and material. Draco looks longingly at the Quidditch store before entering the store after Ash and I. The wizard in charge of the store bustles into action when he saw us walk in, and half an hour later 

we walk back out with the promise that he was going to send Ash's purchases straight to Hogwarts. I felt a little envious, never before had I had such fast service inside of a store. Draco wraps an arm around my waist, resting his head on mine.

"You're still new to all of this, give it time and it will be nothing more than second nature to you," he mutters under his breath.

"What makes you think that?" I mutter back.

"Ash will not let you go poor. Thanks to her… situation, she has more than enough room and money to let you both live in absolute luxury. You are the only other person that she is this open with."

"Are you two muttering about me?" Ash calls over her shoulder.

"Of course not," Draco responds.

Looking over her shoulder, Ash shoots him an 'I really don't believe you' stare, but lets the topic drop.

"So, where else are we going to go?" I ask aloud.

"The Quidditch store?" Draco asks quickly.

"I have no problem with that," Ash replies.

With a smirk on his face, Draco walks through the door with me close on his heels. I could feel the amusement coming off of Ash at our antics. Out of the three of us, she was the only one who did not play. With a sinking feeling in my heart, I realize that I left behind Quidditch when I left Gryffindor. Draco notices the small change in my face before I smooth it into boredom.

We browse the store quickly before leaving, there was nothing new in there anyway. Heading to the Three Broomsticks, I'm about to go in when I someone grabs me roughly from behind and hauls me into the alley.

DM

"Where'd she go?" I ask Ash in confusion.

"She was right behind me when I came into the pub," she responds.

Ash closes her eyes for a second, opening them again she looks at me seriously.

"Go to the common room and wait for us there," she says quickly before leaving.

I don't stop and ask what she meant by it, if she couldn't stop for an explanation then it was very serious indeed.


	4. Chapter 4

Two for one tonight.

Disclaimer: I own nothing that belong to J.K. Rowling

* * *

I fight back against the people dragging me along the back streets of Hogsmeade, wondering who the hell it was. Everything goes black as a wand flashes into my line of sight for a second.

I wake up what felt like hours later, on the ground in front of the prat and his pals.

"I should have known," I snarl, standing up and brushing my clothes off.

"What's happening to you Ginny?" Potty asks, looking at me with concern on his face.

"You have no right addressing me by my nickname scarhead," I snap.

"Don't talk to him that way," Ron counters.

Hermione slinks away from them, I could tell by how she was carrying herself that she wants no part in what they are doing. The morons don't even notice that she's gone.

"What spells have they put you under?" Ron snarls.

"They have not put me under any spells," I retort icily.

"They must have, this is not you," Potty says.

"I'm sorry if I insulted you manhood by leaving you but I was not going to stand by idly while you cheated on me. How many was it Potty, how many?" I all but scream.

Weasel snarls and levels his wand at my face, "I'm going to break this spell, and then you'll be grateful to me for doing this."

I glare at him while he says the spell, and then watch as it rebounds hitting the ground and scorching it.

"Now, now, now, that's no way to treat your sister now is it?" Ash drawls.

She steps up next to me, for all the world looking like she had just been walking by.

"What have you done to her, you whore!" Ron yells, his face turning a lovely shade of puce.

"I have done nothing to her, Weasel," she replies calmly, "she made her own decisions."

"Stop lying!" he screeches lunging forward.

I felt Ash's hand come down on my shoulder, and I have a second to brace myself as she lifts herself into the air, Ron passing by land in the dirt. There is a soft thump as Ash lands on the ground, turning sideways to keep prat and weasel in her line of sights. They take out their wands and aim them at her.

_:Jump:_ flashes into my mind.

Caught off guard by the command, I jump into the air. I feel arm enclose me and the ground was slowly leaving us behind, the spells missing. Their jaws open, they take a second to aim their wands again and fire spells. Blackness obscured my vision and I thought that they had hit, before I realize that my eyes were open.

I felt my stomach clench as something shifts, and Ash turns me in her arms holding my face close into her shirt.

"Do not look, do not try to look. This world is not for the living," she whispers into my hair her voice strained.

With a wrench, the world rights itself again and we're lying on the floor of the Slytherin Common Room. Draco burst through the portrait his face was flushed from running, his hair an unusual mess. I roll out of Ash's limp arms, looking down at her in concern. Draco nudges me out of the way and all but rips the scarf off of her neck. I keep down a gasp at the metal collar ringing her neck. Her body spasms, and then her chest stops laboring up and down, trying to get air into her lungs. My body wrenches as I realize that I'm staring at Ash's body, she was dead. The collar falls open with a clang on the stone floor. Draco picks it up and flings it away from her. The air began to press down on me as I stare at Ash.

"Come on, come on," he mutters under his breath.

With a sudden gasp, Ash sits straight up on the floor. Her eyes were black, there were no whites showing at all. Draco grasps her shoulder and she smiles at him, a feral smile, but a smile none the less.

"Our dear Ginerva has questions, you may answer all of them, I have business to attend to," she snarls, getting up off of the floor and vanishing.

"What in the bloody hell was that?" I say my voice a detached calm.

Draco stands up and picks up the collar that he threw.

"Let's go to my room, I can answer your questions there," he states.

I head up the stairs behind him, my head buzzing.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own only Ash and the plotline, all else belongs to J.K. Rowling

* * *

I look around the room in mild awe, he had a room to himself, but instead of just the furnishings that the school had provided, he also brought along things from home. Everything was black or green, and what looked like leather. Draco takes a seat on the sofa, motioning for me to take a seat as well.

"I highly doubt that it escaped your notice that Ash is not as one would seem. She was born to be something more than these morons that we call classmates," he starts slowly.

"What is that?" I ask automatically, not wanting to wait for him to reveal it slowly.

He smirks at my impatience, "an angel. There was a prophecy told that when the need arises, five would be born, and together they were to wipe out the darkness that was slowly encroaching upon the land. Another prophecy was made about the chosen one as well, but that was in case the angels did not succeed, or all of them did not realize their power."

"And what does this have to do with me and you?"

"I was born to be one as well, the angel of water, and if Ash is correct, then you are the angel of fire."

"Those tattoos?"

"Her wings."

"I wasn't born with those tattoos though. I think that I would notice if my back was covered in those markings."

"Your parents hid them from you. Someone placed a very strong concealing spell on your back, so that no one would notice them, not even you. They kept it from you, they chose instead to believe that Potty would save the world, since he had already been marked as the chosen one."

There was a displacement of air, and Ash appears in the air next to Draco, her eyes still pitch black.

"You took your time, death," he drawls.

"Wasn't long enough, icicle," she snarls.

The anger radiated around her and I drew back in my chair.

"What did you do?" I squeak.

"I took care of a problem, and further weakened Voldemort's power base," she says closing her eyes.

The pressure in the air dissipates. Draco stands and places an arm over her shoulders.

"I don't think that she believes us, we're going to have to show her," he says.

Ash looks at him, then takes a deep breath in. Exhaling slowly she hunches her shoulders. There was a shimmer over her form and in her place stood a being that looks like Ash, but the power radiating from her made me think twice.

Draco bows to her, then steps aside as she stretches out her wings.

"Damn, this feels good," she mutters.

My eyes shift to Draco as he begins to talk to himself, his wings appeared, his eyes turning an icy cold blue, the same shade as his wings. My eyes flick back to Ash, and I felt something call me out of my chair. She holds her hand out as a ball of fire appears in her palm.

"Come forth little one and claim your birthright," she says her voice formal.

I place my hand in hers and fight the panic as the fire creeps up my arm. I was encased in the fire and suddenly felt something change in me. Looking at my hands, I watch as the fire absorbs into my skin. The skin on my back felt like it was crawling. It split and my eyes roll back into my head. An overwhelming feeling of freedom comes over me, like I was learning about a new side of myself.

I look over my shoulder, and red wings had burst forth from my back. I touch them, thinking that it was just an illusion. They didn't fade, and I let out a laugh.

"Welcome, Angel of Fire," Ash mutters.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Draco asks smirking.

I nod my head, my throat tight.

"I think that I need to stretch properly. I haven't had the chance to in so long," Ash says.

"How are we going to get out of here without bringing unwanted attention to us?" I ask her.

She opens her arms and I step forward as does Draco.

"Close your eyes, and don't look until I tell you too," she tells us then the world shifts.

I press my eyelids shut. It was cold, very cold. The world shifted again and I feel Ash remove her arms from us.

"You can open them now," she says.

I open my eyes, looking at the trees of the Forbidden Forest.

"You know how much I hate traveling like that, you could have at least warned me first?" He growls at her.

"It was the fastest way," she retorts, sticking her tongue out at him.

"What the hell was that?" I ask, getting my breath back.

"It was the land of the dead. A world that overlaps our own, where the souls who wish to pass on go," Ash answers, "The living are not allowed to see that world."

"Then how can you look?" I ask.

"Who said I was fully alive?" she shoots back.

I just stare at her, another secret that she had kept from me.

"I don't want to talk about it. It's something that I don't like to talk about," Ash tells me.

I nod; I'd honor her request, for now. She spreads her wings and launches herself into the sky. I caught a glimpse of her eyes, and I knew that I had brought up bad memories. Draco and I try to follow her, but she was too far ahead.

"I knew that this was coming," he mutters under his breath, not realizing that I could hear him, "at least she got her revenge."

I act like I hadn't heard him, "where is she going? And won't they see us?"

"Everyone is at Hogsmeade, and we're too high for them to even notice. As for where she is going, she just needs to be alone. She'll come back only when she is ready. It's useless for us to try and catch up to her, flying is one thing that comes as naturally to her as breathing," he responds, soaring.

"You said that there were five of us, where are the other two?"

"That's just it; we don't know who they are. They probably don't even really know who they are yet. That is another thing; it takes Ash for them to recognize their own power."

"But why her?"

"She is the point on the star, she is the most powerful one out of all of us, and she was the first."

Death, to come into her power she would have to not only see death, but die herself. I had to fight the shudder that went up my spine, no wonder she kept to herself so much. A shadow fell over us, and something plummets between us. There was a light touch on my leg.

"You're it," she calls back, zooming away.

Draco wheels to the side, and I go after him. Mimicking Ash's form, I dive on him, tagging him then flying away. I felt freer that I ever have before, even flying on a broom never felt this good. I was doing this under my own power, and on my own.

Hours later, we touch back down to earth. My back and shoulders were aching, a long slow ache. Closing my eyes, I will my wings to disappear. There was a feeling of something being pulled back into my body; I knew that my wings were gone.

"We need to do that again," I say to them.

Draco throws his arm over my shoulder, doing the same to Ash on his other side as we began to make our way back to the castle.

"I think that we all need something to eat, and then we can enjoy the rest of the day together," he says and we both nod.

"Hey Ginerva, did you really have no idea what you were until you met us?" Ash asks.

"I didn't even know that such a thing had been foretold. My parents hid my wings from me, I guess they want to believe that Potty would be more powerful that I would ever be," I tell her.

"Just to let you know, I don't really like your parents," she retorts.

"Don't worry, the feeling is mutual," I mutter, fighting back the memories of the aftermath of my first year, "they're never been all that supportive of me. I'm the only girl other than my mother."

"Well, I think that it's safe to say you have more than enough support in us," Draco says, tightening his arm around my shoulders.

I smile at him, feeling a blush creeping up my cheeks. Something was different, wrong. I'm not supposed to feel this way for him, he's my best friend.

* * *

A/N:

Since I don't know for how much longer my free time will last (job hunting) I'm going to be putting up the chapters as I finish them, or at least once a week whichever comes first. And for any of my readers that are looking for a beta, I'm open to read anyone's works.


	6. Chapter 6

DM

Going back down into the dungeons, Ginny excuses herself and makes her way up to her dorm. Ash nods her head in the direction of mine, an unspoken question. I stand up and make my way towards it, whistling following us. The thought of doing something with her was sickening. I shut the door, casting a silencing spell, and for good measure stuffing a small rag into the keyhole of the door. I wouldn't put anything past the perverts that were downstairs.

I turn as Ash lit a cigarette, blowing smoke rings. Her pack sat on the table; I took one out and lit it myself.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" I ask her.

"I want you to keep a closer eye on the bloody trio and Ginny. They tried something in Hogmesade, I don't want them to have the same opportunity here," she responds coldly.

"If they so much as touch a hair on her head, they're going to pay for it."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you had a crush on fire."

"You tell her this, and I will skin you."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Come on, it's not like you can really die anyways."

"You can though."

"You wouldn't. We got horribly off-topic. Ginny's interested me since she's come to Hogwarts. She was nothing like what Weasel King thought she was. I could see the twins in her, more so than the rest of her family. The twins, I respected and out of her entire family, they are the only ones that I would want to talk to. And as far as I noticed, when the rest of her family left her, they stood by her helping as much as they could."

"What happened?"

I sit there and think about it, trying to remember what had happened my second year that would have caused the tight Weasel family to split the way that they did. The opening of the Chamber of Secrets? Could that really have been Ginny? A realization dawned on me, the diary that Father had slipped into her cauldron, it couldn't have been.

"She was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets," I mutter under my breath.

"Honestly, no wonder she has a Slytherin streak a mile wide," Ash jests lightly.

I take a drag, blowing the smoke at my ceiling.

"It's been too long since we've done this," I say.

"We just haven't had the time, and it's not like we don't have a stunning little red-head to think about," she answers.

"Yeah," I mutter before what she said completely sunk in, "you're a bitch."

"I do try."

She conjures an ashtray and stubs out her cigarette, summoning the pack, she lights another before sending it back to the table. She rests her head against the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Her hand was unconsciously brushing against the scarf that she still wore covering the scars that the collar had made.

"There's a question that I want to ask you, but I am not sure if I should," I mutter.

"You know that there is no secrets between us, there are only some things that I do not want Ginerva to know, at least right now," she replies.

"What happened to you?"

"Oh, you know my Father; he wanted to keep me under his thumb as much as humanly possible. He tried to break me and he succeeded just not in the way that he wanted to. 'Death has to die thrice.'"

I stand up, tossing my cigarette butt into the fireplace, taking another one and lighting it quickly, "how did it happen?"

She stands up, her cig dangling from her lips. She turns her back and raises the back of her shirt. My stomach clenches at the pale web of scars that line her back. The bastard whipped her to death, at least it was one of them. If he hadn't already been dead, he would have been begging for death long before I granted it to him. Looking down at my watch, I realize that it was time for dinner.

"Do you think that we should go and wake Ginny, its dinner time?" I ask.

"Let her sleep, when she wakes up she'll more than likely make her way to the kitchens," she replies pushing herself up off of the couch.

Descending the stairs, the rest of the common room was empty, already in the great hall.

"Death, do you expect the Potty trio to try and start something tonight?" I ask her, slipping my mask into place.

"Does the sun rise?" she retorts, sweeping through the open doors of the Great Hall, I hurry to keep up with her while she makes her way to the Slytherin table.

I sneak a look at the Gryffindor table, and noticed that two glares were directly at Ash. I nudge her under the table and just motion with my eyes. Something that few would notice, most don't pay attention to the small details. She looks, and a small smirk plays at her lips.

I make myself a plate, keeping my eyes on the morons. Granger, for all that she's worth, and that's not much, was trying to keep them in their seats when they realize that Ginny was not right behind us like she normally was. The attempt to make it to our table is put to an end when Dumbledore rises. An eerie silence falls over the Great Hall immediately, faster than one can use the Silenco charm.

"I know that this is late notice, especially after the first Hogsmeade trip has already passed, but after conferring with my fellow staff members, we have decided that it would be best if we held an All Hallows Eve ball. Also, with the consent of the heads of the houses, there will be another Hogsmeade trip next weekend. Enjoy the rest of your meal," Dumbledore resumes his seat, his blue eyes twinkling, and it seems like it is at us.

"Wonder what the old coot has up his sleeve," I mutter under my breath.

"With the ball announcement," Ash asks, looking up at the staff table.

"No, with the fact that he's staring at us, you in particular."

"Maybe he just can't resist my feminine wiles."

"You have feminine wiles."

"They just don't work on you because you're out of my league. I like my kind short, stupid, and scarred."

I snort into my dinner, catching the jest in her voice. She waits patiently for me to finish eating, then stands up quickly.

"Let's go. The stupidity level is raising, and I for one don't want my IQ dropping," she sneers.

I stand as well. Returning to the Slytherin room, she bades me good night then heads up to her dorm. I knew that she wouldn't be sleeping, she rarely did even when she was younger.

I change quickly, dropping into sleep with dreams filled with a certain fiery red-head.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own only the plot and Ash, all else belongs to J.K. Rowling and Co.

* * *

GW

I wake up the smell of smoke, and I shoot up in bed thinking that the room was on fire. Opening my curtains, I see Ash sitting at her desk, a cigarette in one hand, dangerously close to burning her fingers. Curiosity getting the better of me, I walk over to her on bare feet and pluck the cig out of her hand, taking a drag and coughing.

She looks up at me, mildly amused at the look on my face. She takes out another one and lights it, leaving me with the rest of that one. My lungs were burning, but with the second drag on the cigarette it eased and it wasn't all that bad.

"What time is it?" I ask her.

"Almost time for breakfast," she mutters, going back to her sketch book.

I look over her shoulder at the sketch pad, and the design there almost took my breath away. Though it looks more like a costume then something that a person could wear for day to day living, I found myself wondering why she was designing it.

"You missed dinner last night, Dumbledore said that they were going to have an All Hallows Eve ball. He also said that next weekend will also be a Hogsmeade weekend so people could shop. Gives me chance to get the material for our costumes, Draco's probably assuming that I'm going to make his as well," she mutters, as if answering my thoughts.

I put out my cigarette, she offers me the pack and I shake my head.

"Can you read my mind or something?" I jest.

"We're connected now, if you think loud enough I can hear your thoughts."

"Is that how you and Draco managed to stay in contact for so long?'

"No, I wasn't allowed to use any of my power while I was wearing that horrid collar. Father was worried that I would kill him, and he had right to."

She ran her fingers over the scars at the base of her throat, and I felt an anger welling up inside my chest. There was a whooshing sound as my bed curtains caught on fire. Ash gives me a chiding look, and then her eyes lose focus. A second later there was a bang as Draco charges into the room, dousing the flames with water from his hands.

"And what have we learned?" he drawls.

"Don't get angry?" I squeak, my heart still racing.

"High emotions leads to your power getting out of control," Ash mutters.

She flips back a couple of pages in her sketch book and holds it up to Draco. His eyes widen as he looks over the sketch.

"Thank you," he mutters to her.

"I figured you would have wanted me to design something for you," she replies casually.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" There was concern in his voice.

"You already know the answer to that question," she answers.

"I don't think that I've ever really seen you use the bed," I think aloud.

"I don't need to sleep that much," Ash says, "I never really have. Don't want to deal with the nightmares that creep up on me."

"Dreamless sleep potion?" I ask her.

"Won't work for me, my body will metabolize it too quickly. And I hate being forced to sleep," Ash answers.

"I'll talk to Severus, there might be something that he can do for you," Draco says to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

I could feel a pang of jealousy; I push it aside quickly, not wanting to set something else on fire. I would have liked to be as close to Draco as Ash apparently was. I push these thoughts away as well, we're friends, you're not supposed to feel like this towards a friend. I just got out of a bad relationship; I don't want to get into another one, not now.

Ash stands up and stretches, I could hear her back cracking my spine feeling sympathy pain.

"Want to head up to breakfast?" she asks, her stomach squealing.

She puts out her cigarette in the ashtray and grabs a scarf before heading out.

"No complaints here," Draco answers.

I nod. She heads for the door, heading down into the common room. Draco makes a motion with his hand for me to precede him out of the door. I smile at him, ducking my head in a nod before following Ash, Draco right behind me.

We take our seats at the table, and a few owls make their way in. I noticed the erratic flight of our old owl Errol, and I could feel my lip curling. So they take it upon themselves to write to me. Guess Mother wanted to make good and sure about things before she wrote anything to me. He drops onto the plate of eggs, and I manage a shield charm before I got splattered with the mess.

An easily recognizable red envelope was clutched in his beak. I take it, opening it quickly, like one would rip tape off of your skin.

"Ginerva Molly Weasley!" Mothers harsh voice screams, "How dare you shame this family so! Get your ass to where you belong and make up with Harry, he's heartbroken that you ended the relationship! I guess we were right about your first year, that touching that things soul corrupted you! If, in a week, you are not back where you belong, then do not even think of coming home, you won't have one! You'll never be a Weasley again!"

"And that's a bad thing how?" I ask the shreds of the envelope.

"Well, are you going to do what she's… demanding of you?" Ash asks me.

"Go back to Gryffindor, with all of those sniveling idiots, or stay here with my friends. Go back to a family that hates me, or stay with a family I found that notices me for me," I muse.

"I think that it's a no brainer than," Draco drawls, his face impassive.

I take out my quill, conjuring parchment; Errol sat there staring at me mournfully.

"Mother," I write quickly, "Do not think for one minute your threats scare me. I have not really been a part of this family since my first year. You treated me like a leper, thought that I chose to be possessed. For your information, I did not willingly take him into my body, I did not willingly do all of those things. I guess at the end of this letter, I do not have to call you Mother anymore, and for that, I have to say I am glad. I am not changing one thing, I am happy where I am. Good-bye."

I seal the letter quickly and give it to Errol before using a levitation charm on him until he could go under his own power. I felt relieved that I would not have to deal with my Mother anymore, come back and be treated like a house elf, doing by hand all the she could do with just a flick of her wand.

An elegant owl lands in front of Ash, and she takes the letter from its beak giving the owl a bit of her breakfast. It flew away, Ash kept turning the letter over in her hands, pausing to look at the seal thoughtfully before turning it over again.

"Knut for your thoughts," I mutter.

"You're still not old enough to take care of yourself are you?" She whispers.

"No, not until August," I answer.

"What are you planning on doing, after the school year, for breaks?" she asks.

"Why all the questions?" I respond.

"I've been the legal age, and I wouldn't put it past your Mother to notify the ministry that you've been disowned and will be in need of a guardian. There is a period of time, if a guardian steps forward and claims it, then you won't be considered a ward of the state. If you want to, I could legally adopt you into my family," she says solemnly, looking at me.

My heart started racing as I figured out what she was offering me.

"But it would be weird to have you as my mother," I say quickly.

"Who said that I would be your Mother," she retorts.

"Isn't that what you just said," I ask confusion in my voice.

"I'm offering you my family name, and since I'm the only surviving member left, it is mine to give as I please. We'd be more like sisters than anything," she explains.

Before I could give anyone in the great hall a hint of what we were talking about, I nod my head at her. She smiles at me, fading it to a smirk before excusing herself and leaving the Great Hall.

"You should be honored," Draco mutters out of the corner of his mouth at me.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"To do that, means that she believes that you would fit well into her family. It's ancient magic, almost never done anymore."

"I've never heard of it."

"You're family, though being pureblood, have turned their backs on a lot of the ancient magic that goes along with being one. They chose not to inform you about the perks that come with it, as well as the pitfalls."

I finish my plate, and Draco makes a small motion towards the door, and I nod. Potty brushed past me, with the Weasel King in tow. They don't spare a passing glance at me as they go by. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Draco making sure they didn't do anything to me. Down in the dungeons, I realize something that I didn't before.

"What's Ash's last name?" I ask Draco.

"Twilight," he replies.

AT

I watch the owl disappear, carrying my request to the executors of my Father's will telling them that I will be there for the reading, and my request to add Ginerva to the family tree, as my sister. I head down from the tower, looking forward to spending the day working on Ginerva's 

wardrobe. This is the first time that I've really had anyone to design for, Father scoffed at my sketches and Mother… well… Mother didn't live long enough.

I heard footsteps start up behind me; I turn quickly to see Potty with his wand raised. He muttered a spell and everything went dark.

* * *

A.N.: In case you don't figure it out AT is Ash Twilight. Evil cliffhanger, what will Potter do to get his girlfriend back.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it's you guys that have kept me working on this through everything. Enjoy the chapter .


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story but the plot line and Ash, all else belongs to J.K. Rowling and assorted publication and movie companies.

* * *

AT

I snap awake, fighting the bonds that I know are holding me a chair. For a second not remembering that Father was dead and that I had personally escorted his spirit to hell, too far in to come back out willingly. I vaguely remember Potty and Weasel King ambushing me in the hallway, then everything going dark.

"Looks like she's finally awake," I hear a familiar voice say, and I relax.

"Don't know my own strength sometimes," Potter answers.

"Very funny. Now let me go before you regret doing this," I snarl at them.

"No, you're going to regret putting that spell on Ginny," Ron snarls slapping me.

"Oh, I see how it is. You can't take me on in a fair fight, so you knock me out, drag me off, tie me to a chair, and then beat me. How this must hurt your tender masculine pride," I drawl, settling my face in a well known mask.

Potty's fist comes out of nowhere and my head snaps to the side. I could taste blood in my mouth. I swirl my tongue through it drawing it further in my mouth and mixing it with my saliva. Potty leans his head closer to me, thinking that I'm going to say something. I spat the blood and saliva mixture into his face, smirking.

He raises his fist to hit me again, and Ron grabs his arm with a look of reluctance, "we need her conscious."

"We can just revive her," Potty answers.

Weasel thinks about this for a second and then lets go of Potty's fist. He punches me again, and I let my head turn with the momentum, barely doing any damage.

"How do you reverse the spell that you put on Ginny?" Potty asks.

"I did not use a spell," I snarl back.

He walks over to a wall that I hadn't noticed and comes back with a knife.

"The same question," Ron snarls.

I just glare at him, if they're being unreasonable, I can be unreasonable right back. Potty brings the knife close to my face, running the flat of the blade against my skin.

"Wonder what would happen if you put this in her eye?" he asks weasel.

"It'll probably pop," weasel answers.

Without making a motion, he does it. The pain was blinding, but in the back of my mind I hear a whisper, like the one that I had heard when I died the first time. Morana, Queen of the Dead, was with me, and I would come through this with no harm. The pain fades as the deity takes most of the pain for me. _Stay strong my angel, stay strong. It might not heal right away, but in time, it will heal._ Potty takes the knife out, a perverse look of enjoyment on his face at the blood running down from the ruins of my eye.

"Can I blind her?" he questions, running the bloody knife over my other cheek.

"That would be going too far, even for this Slytherin scum. Do you have the dark mark yet?" Ron responds.

The knife moved away from my cheek, and I could feel the fabric of my sleeve being sliced.

"Guess not," Potty remarks coldly, "maybe it's in a more intimate place. Only best for a whore. What was he like?"

I surreptitiously move my foot, and realize that the idiots didn't bind my feet like they bound my arms. Bloody gits, they can't even do things all the way. A quick plan forms in my mind, I start to spread my legs, a coy look flashing through my remaining eye.

"Why don't you check then?" I say, my voice breathy.

Potty comes around the front of me, just one more step. You know you want to think with your prick, one more step. He takes the step. I stomp my heel down on the ground and hear the snick of the blade popping out of my shoe. Before he could react, I kick him soundly in the groin, twisting my foot before bringing my foot down. Weasel gapes at me for a second before grabbing a knife himself, turning mildly green he tries to avenge his unmanned friend. My bonds unlock and I move, but weasel was faster than I expected, the knife burying in my side.

I snarl, taking the knife out before throwing it at him. I heard a wet thump as it hits its mark. Not staying to survey the damage that I had done, I leave quickly, pulling the hood of my robe over my face _Thank you_, I whisper to the presence in my mind. I could feel a nod, and then it fades imperceptibly.

I whisper the password to get into the common room, peeking in before going in. No one was lounging on the couches.

_Draco, where are you?_ I call out.

_In my room, you know the password_, he answers.

I stumble up the stairs, muttering the password before collapsing on the threshold unable to go any further.

DM

I was on my feet in a second, crossing the room to Ash. Ginny stood as well, wondering what was going on. I push her hood back, and fight to keep my breakfast down. I pick her up gently.

"Ginny, get her robe off," I say quickly.

Ginny rushes over, turning green when she sees Ash's face, unclasping her robe so that it fell away. Her eye I could do nothing about, the knife wound on her side, I could. Laying her down on the bed, I take out my wand, muttering a spell, sighing in relief that there were no internal injuries before closing the flesh.

"In my wardrobe, there's a case like what Severus has, bring it to me please," I command.

I could hear the wardrobe doors being flung open. The case lands on the bed next to me and I open it, taking out a blood-replenishing potion and an awakening draught.

"Should we go and get Professor Snape, or Madame Pomfrey?" Ginny asks.

I felt a little swelling of Slytherin pride at Ginny, asking for Severus before Pomfrey, "neither for right now. I just want to wake her up."

As if on cue, Ash begins to stir and tries to sit up, but sinks back into the bed groaning and clutching her head.

"Got anything for a headache in that case of miracles of yours," she mutters softly.

Plucking out the appropriate bottle, I press it into her hand. She drinks it quickly, sighing.

"Who did this to you?" Ginny asks, her voice cold.

"Three guesses," Ash answers.

"The bloody gits," Ginny says.

"Right in one," Ash snarls.

"What happened to your eye?" I ask.

"Potty wanted to have a little fun with a knife," Ash answers.

She brings her hand up and touches it gently, looking at the blood on her hand, she pulls out her wand and mutters a cleaning spell. With the gore gone, I could see that all he had done was pop her eye; he didn't even have the balls to remove it. I felt Ginny walk up next to me, my heart racing at her nearness. We watch as Ash brings her hand up to her eye and slowly walk the eyelid down over the ruins, a look of concentration passes over her face, and when she lets the eyelid go, her eye was whole again.

I pass my hand in front of her eye, but the milky sheen over it didn't allow her to see it.

"The blindness will go away in a couple days," Ash says.

"How did you learn to do such a powerful healing spell, wandless?" Ginny asks.

"Necessity," Ash answers.

I knew the truth of it, something that she didn't want to mention to Ginny. Then again, when you're as powerful as she is, and you say that you can hear voices in your head, it's a one way trip to St. Mungo's. There was a tapping on the window and I use it as an excuse to get away from the bed and school my face into impassivity before Ginny could see the truth written there.

When had I gotten close enough to her to drop my guard so much I have to think about putting my mask back up? I shake it off, letting the owl in the window, it circles once before landing in front of Ash, offering the letter in its beak.

She takes it, then looks to me. I toss her a treat, and the second it leaves my hand I realize that I threw it on her blind side. Cursing under my breath at my stupidity, I see the cross look on her face when the owl treat hits her.

"I forgot," I say quickly trying to save my hide.

Ash hands the owl the treat and it flies out of the window, probably feeling the tension. The mask was up, but I could see the play of emotions beneath the surface. She gets up slowly and makes her way towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asks.

"Back to the room, I need to get a few things, I'll be back," She answers, slipping down the stairs.

She had just left when someone comes knocking on my door. Curious, I open the door to see Vaisley standing there.

"What do you want?" I drawl at him.

"I'm being called out of school," He says coldly.

"That means I'm going to be down a chaser, with the Quidditch season about to start," I snarl.

He backs down the stairs a little bit, afraid of my temper. My first year as captain, and things are already going down the loo.

"Go," I snarl.

He bolts. I go back into the room, pacing furiously.

"Did I hear that you were going to be down a chaser?" Ginny asks calmly.

"Yeah, and there's no one in this house good enough to replace him," I answer.

"Now that's just being mean."

I stop pacing and stare at her. There have never been girls on the Slytherin team, but I did tell the team that I was going to be doing things differently, here's a perfect way.

"I can see those wheels turning. And to top it all off, I know all of Potty's plays, seeing as how, their mine," she says calmly.

I have to take a moment to scrape my jaw off of the floor.

"Be at tryouts, we'll see what you got," I manage finally.

She just smirks, and I could feel the Quidditch house cup in my hands already.

* * *

A.N.: well, i hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you hadn't figured this out by now, it all AU, and I've decided to change up some characters. . Thank you to all who have reviewed.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: own nothing but the plot line and my original characters.

* * *

AT

"Bugger, where did I put it," I mutter under my breath.

I went to reach for something, only to have my hand miss it by inches. Depth perception was off too, how I hate being blind, in any sense. Not to mention I could be attacked on this side, and with Potty going on the warpath when he gets his family jewels set back to rights, I'd rather not have any handicap. I stand up, only to find what I was looking for sitting on the edge of my chair. Huh, must have thrown it not realizing what it was. I slip the eye patch on, and take it off. This would be an obvious show of weakness, and the eye was still there.

Waving my wand, the clothing strewn around the room flies back into the wardrobe, in the precise order it was in to begin with. I look at the bolts of cloth longingly, not the time to think about sewing anything, even by magic. Don't want to wind up sewn to the garments.

I grab my rucksack, feeling mildly proud that I had managed to grab it on the second try. Locating my school books, parchment and the quill I could dictate to, I head back over to Draco's room.

Walking in I see the two of them bent over a piece of parchment. Ginny looks up when I come in and smiles before returning to what she was doing before.

I sit on the bit of table that wasn't taken up by parchment and take out my potions text, bloody Snape and his essay due tomorrow.

GW

I nudge Draco, nodding my head at Ash. He fought a snicker as he saw her move the textbook, trying to read it.

A flash of sympathy crosses his features, followed closely by anger.

"Please tell me that you at least put Potty in the hospital wing?" He snarls.

"Well, I couldn't very well let him do this to me and get away with it," she growls out, "we're not going to have to worry about wee Potty's, maybe ever."

I felt my eyes grow large at this statement. One of the things I had learned while dating the prat was that he was looking forward to having a large family.

"What did you do?" I ask.

She smirks and bangs the heel of her boot hard against the stone floor. I hear a faint snicking sound and she holds up her shoe. A knife was sticking out of the tip of her shoe, and I could feel the smirk on my face as well. With a wave of her hand the blade sank back into the shoe.

"To the family jewels then?" I ask calmly.

"He's not going to be in good shape to do much of anything, for a while. He's not going to want to go to the infirmary with wounds like those," she says calmly.

I look at Draco out of the corner of my eye, and notice that he was looking at the blade, having gone very pale, but he had a smirk on his face.

"And the Weasel?" he drawls out, "no offense."

"None taken," I answer.

"He tried to stab me, and I returned the favor," Ash answers.

A look passes over Ash's face, and she walks to the bed where she had left the letter. Growling in frustration at the cramped handwriting, she tosses the letter to Draco before stalking back to her chair before the fire.

"Ms. Twilight," Draco reads, "I am glad to hear that you will be able to make it to the reading of the will. Your Father was adamant that it be read no less than a month after his death, all but giving me an exact date. As for the case with Ms. Weasley, since you have owled me early enough in the morning I was able to take care of the matter immediately and have come bearing good news, the ministry does not fight your case of taking guardianship, nor do they have problems integrating the youngest Weasley into your family. Please tell Ms. Weasley… excuse me… Ms. Twilight, welcome to the family. Hope to see the both of you at the reading then, one week hence, earlier if possible."

I felt stunned, the ministry didn't fight it, I was waiting for bad news to be owled back to Ash. I look at her, and she sat there with an amused smirk on her face. She got up and went towards the door.

"Where are you going?" I ask quickly.

"I have to make arrangements with Dumbledore," she answers.

"Not without me," I retort.

"Or me," Draco chimes in.

"It's not necessary for both…" she starts.

"Do you remember what happened the last time that you went off on your own?" Draco hisses.

She pauses to think about it, "fine, come if you want."

Draco turns to pick up his robes, and I fight a giggle as Ash misses the doorknob on her first attempt. Together we leave the dungeons, the corridors were deserted, everyone either in their rooms or the library preparing for tomorrow. We reach the Gargoyle that guards the staircase to Dumbledore's office.

Ash leans forward and whispers the password to it. It jumps aside and we ascend. The door open and waiting for us when we got to the top.

"I was wondering when you were going to come and see me," Dumbledore says, his voice cheery.

"I would have been here sooner, but I was… detained," Ash answers calmly, sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Draco and I sit on either side of her.

"Yes, I'm ashamed of what Mr. Potter took upon himself to do. But I'm glad to see that you were able to save the eye. If you wouldn't refuse my services," Dumbledore starts.

Ash inclines her head, and Dumbledore comes around his desk to stand directly in front of the chair that she was sitting in. He lowers his hand over her eye and mutters a spell under his breath. When he takes his hand away she is blinking in the light, the full function of her sight having returned to her.

"Mr. Potter's parents would have been ashamed of their sons behavior," Dumbledore mutters.

"Lily would have," Ash states, "James would have patted him on the back when she wasn't looking."

"Too true, but that still does not excuse his behavior. It does seem like he is starting down a path that would have been better left untouched. He was in here today, after the incident, trying to lay all of the blame on you. If I remember correctly, 'if the stupid bint had just told me what I wanted, I would have left her eye alone,'" Dumbledore recites his voice grave.

Ash looks over at us, a critical look in her eye.

_I'm going to tell him_, her voice resonates in my mind. I give her a nod, she looks at Draco and get the same.

"Do not put your faith in what is obviously a sinking ship. His was not the first prophecy foretelling the demise of the so-called Dark Lord. He was merely a plan b," Ash states calmly.

"Yes, but there is no telling when the beings of the first prophecy will turn up, if they do at all," Dumbledore whispers.

Ash stands, looking at him critically, "what I am about to show you goes no further than this room for the time being," she says, looking at Dumbledore, then at the portraits that adorned his walls.

There were mutterings of 'of course' from all around us and Ash nods firmly. She closes her eyes, and I could feel the shift of power in the room. Her wings extended took up almost the entire office. Looking at Dumbledore, his blue eyes were twinkling over the top of his glasses.

"The Angel of Death," he whispers, "and fire and ice."

Ash bows, her wings still extended to the Professor. I incline my head much like Ash did to him and I could see Draco mirroring me out of the corner of my eye.

Ash folds her wings, and sits sideways in the chair that she had occupied earlier.

"House unity is quickly becoming a problem," Ash states.

"Yes and even the sorting hat know it. The only thing is, we do not know what we are to do about it," Dumbledore responds.

"What are the uniforms but a way of signifying what house you are in," Ash begins.

"So if you take away the robes, you being to solve the problem," Dumbledore finishes, "I'm surprised that I didn't think of it sooner."

Ash smirks, and Dumbledore smiles.

"Well, what had brought you to my office? Apparently it was not your eye," I could hear the laughter in Dumbledore's voice.

"I'm going to need a week off of school, and permission to leave the campus," Ash answers.

"Whatever for?" Dumbledore asks.

"As you know, my father has recently passed away, and I need to take care of his will. I also need the time for the ceremony to bring another into the family line," Ash replies.

He looks at her questioningly.

"Ginerva, in light of her recent change of house and all that comes with it, has been disowned from her family. Though from what I hear, it is for the best. She is going to leave the name Weasley behind and become a Twilight," Ash explains.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Ms. Weasley, soon to be Twilight. Is this what you wish?" Dumbledore asks me.

"Yes, it is," I state.

"I'll notify your Professors, and you shall be able to leave tonight after dinner. I'll expect you back next Sunday."

Ash stands, her wings vanishing with a grace that I envied.

"Thank you Professor," she states calmly.

"One more question, do you know who the remaining two are?" he asks as we head to the door.

"Not yet, but they are within the school, I know that much," Ash answers leaving.

Hope began to bloom in my chest, I was looking forward to the week off of school, and I had a feeling that I was not going to forget it anytime soon.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this story. Just to let you guys know, I also put up another story .


	10. Chapter 10

GW

I sat down to dinner, smiling for what felt like the first time in a really long time. I was going to leave behind the life where I never felt truly welcome by everyone. Only Fred and George were the ones who were nice to me, and then they left me alone with Mother. Half-way through dinner I notice Weasel stand up and make his way towards the Slytherin table. I nudge Ash's and Draco's knee under the table, motioning with a small motion of my head at the git. Ash lays a reassuring hand on my arm.

"Ginny. A word. In private," he bites out.

I look at the other two, and they look at me like it's up to me. I was about to step out of the Great Hall when Draco made a minor commotion, bringing attention to him, and no one but me noticed that Ash disappeared where she sat. I felt a glimmer courage knowing that I wouldn't be alone in the hall with him.

"Ginny, Mother is devastated. What did you say to her?" he asks coldly.

"Only what she started. The howler that she sent me for breakfast was enough to show that I am no longer welcome in the Weasley household, and I wouldn't be surprised if she removed my hand from the clock," I retort.

"You betrayed us and she was hurt, what else did you expect," he snarls, his face turning red.

"No, you were the ones who betrayed me. All of you abandoned me when I needed you the most, Fred and George were the only ones who paid the slightest whit of attention to me."

"Oh boo hoo, Ginny needed attention. What about Harry?"

"Yes, Harry Bloody Potter and his wonderfulness. I wonder what the hell I saw in him in the first place, I must have been bonkers to go out with him."

"What's insanity is you hanging out with the prince of the snakes and his whore."

"You don't know anything do you! So blind and conceited, I find myself glad that when this week is through I will no longer call you family."

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm always going to be your brother, that's not something that you can escape."

"Yes, it is."

He backs me farther into the hall, farther away from the doors to the Great Hall.

"Now!" he yells.

Harry whips off his invisibility cloak, his wand at the ready and a spell on his lips. Before it could connect, I was encased in black feathers, a minute whimpering sounding from right behind me. The wings open again, and Ash shoves me behind her, her wand out.

"Don't you guys ever bleeding learn," she snarls at them.

I step off to the side of her, letting her see me out of the corner of her eye. She was pissed. Her black eyes were merciless as she stared the two of them down.

_Behind you!_ I scream in my mind at her.

She moves, barely dodging the net that Hermione had cast to imprison her.

"I never thought that one of you would dare take on a form better than your own," Hermione snarls, her voice snobbish.

"And I would never have pegged you for an idiot," Ash responds, "but with all of those books smarts, not one whit of common sense."

I heard the doors open and I saw Blaise walking out of the Great Hall. He stops short at the scene before him, and shuts the doors behind him quickly. He paces forward slowly his wand drawn.

The trio, seeing that they were outnumbered took the minor distraction to beat it. Going under the invisibility cloak.

"Blaise, I can explain," I start.

"I'm not the only one," he whispers, his dark skin lighter than normal.

Ash holds out her hand to him, and he reaches out and takes it. His eyes close as the power passes through him, green wings bursting from his back.

"Angel of Earth, it is a pleasure to meet you," Ash mutters.

"Angel of Death I presume," he whispers.

There was a soft commotion from behind the closed doors. Ash pulls us both to her shutting the wings over us as the pressure changes. We were in the land of the dead again. She waited and then the pressure changes again before opening her wings and letting us free. Blaise's wings have vanished. He looks at us curiously.

"Go to Dumbledore, and tell only him what you are and that you're coming with us. Pack for a week's trip and meet us by the front doors within the hour," Ash says quickly, turning and going down the stairs to the dungeons.

I follow her quickly, and see her slumped against the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

"Too much, too soon," she mutters, "give me a moment and I'll get my strength back."

I heard footsteps on the stairs, and Draco comes to the bottom. He leans down and lifts Ash into his arms, "no place to take a break Death. Weakness is never meant to be shown."

We rush the rest of the way to the Slytherin Common Room, knowing that most of them will still be at dinner. Draco sets Ash down and she is a bit unsteady on her feet before nodding that she is fine.

"Go pack, we'll do the same. We're meeting Blaise before we leave," she says quickly.

"Blaise?" Draco questions.

"Earth," I reply for her.

He nods, then disappears up the stairs. I motion for Ash to go ahead of me, silently muttering a prayer to be able to catch her if she fell. She makes it to the bed and sits down. I go to my wardrobe and open it, looking inside. There was nothing in there that wasn't attached to a memory of the Weasley family.

"Step back from that damned thing," Ash mutters.

I go over and join her on the bed, looking at her curiously. She waves her wand and clothes from both wardrobes fly into their respective trunks. I notice that while quite a few outfits flew from her trunk, my entire wardrobe was emptied and all my clothes had been packed.

"I have the feeling that you're going to want to set fire to that," she says, looking at me.

"Then I'll have nothing to wear," I tell her.

She just stares at me.

"Once you become a part of my family, you're not going to want for anything. Tomorrow, after everything is done, we're going to take you shopping," she says calmly, "Ginerva Twilight."


	11. Chapter 11

GW

Ash shrinks both of our trunks before leaving the room, her footsteps still unsteady as she makes her way down the stairs. Because she was protecting me, she had pushed the limits for me; she was already treating me more as family than the majority of my family already has. We get into the Common Room and Draco and Blaise were already sitting in two of the chairs, waiting on us.

"I was wondering if we were going to have to send a search party for the two of you," Draco smirks.

"No, there was no need. You should know that I'm going to be going a little slower for a while," Ash responds, "I'm assuming that Dumbledore gave you the right of way to go with us?"

Blaise merely nods, rising to his feet gracefully, Draco following his lead. We walk out of the common room and into the Great Hall, walking out of the main doors. There was a single thestral drawn carriage waiting for us.

"We're going to be leaving from Hogsmeade," Ash tells me, "we're not going to be flying."

"Apparate?" I ask her.

"Draco will be taking you, and I shall take Blaise. Out of the four of us, we are the only two as of right now that have access to my property," she says, "tomorrow, you will be as well."

She makes a motion for me to get into the carriage before her, closing the door after herself. She takes off a silver cuff bracelet that I hadn't noticed, and on the inside of her wrist was a crescent moon and star design.

"What's that?" I ask her.

"Family crest, you might have one as well. It depends on what happens," she answers me.

"Why don't the other pureblood families have markings like that?" I ask, knowing that nowhere on my body was a marking declaring me a Weasley.

Ash looks out of the window of the carriage, as if trying to find the right words to describe it, "The Twilight family is not like the rest of the pureblood families. We were shown favor, long ago, by something that created the first wizard. We are the oldest family, even though there are few who know of us. To marry into the Twilight family was once an honor beyond all honors," she says softly, "but somewhere along the line, the code of honor that we lived by became corrupted by others, thinking that they were the ones who knew what it meant to be a Twilight. And then one of the family threw in their support with the Dark Lord, and then it all went downhill from there. The deity that showed so much honor to the Twilight family withdrew their support, and the markings upon the wrists of those who supported him faded. I am the first in the family to wear this marking again. The wings on my back proof of the favor."

"Weren't you going to be forced into that life by your father?" Draco asks, his voice cold.

"Father would not take me before him unless I was willing, and I never gave in. He tried to break me, but he failed," Ash answers, "he couldn't believe that I was the one who was being favored over him. He 

thought that he was right beyond everything else and that the Deity should be made to see it as well. And here was proof that could not be corrupted that his way of life is not the right one."

"If he was trying so hard to get you to join the Dark Lord's side, why did he leave you at my house like he did?" Draco asks quietly.

"You know the answer to that question, Ice."

Ash shuts down, and I could tell by the look on Draco's face that he had brought up memories that he had not meant to bring up. Before all of this had happened, I never thought that I would live to see remorse on his face.

_Red_ a voice brushes against my mind.

_What?_ I reply, following the thread back to the mind.

_Do you think that I should apologize to her, I didn't mean to bring up the past like this_, Draco mutters.

_No, you don't need to apologize. The memories are fresh anyway_, Ash mutters, _Next time you start a conversation like this, make sure it's private. _There was laughter in her voice.

"I know that Draco is the Angel of Ice, and Ginny is more than likely the Angel of Fire, but what does that make you Ash?" Blaise asks, breaking the silence.

"The beginning and the end," Ash mutters, "death."

Blaise pales for a second before flushing, "do we know who the last one is?"

"As of right now, no we don't. This person is more than likely at Hogwarts though. All gathered in one spot to realize their full potential."

"What's it like? Death?" I ask, thinking of Sirius.

"It's peaceful. All the burdens that you carry throughout life are finally able to b put aside. Jealousy and hatred don't exist. But that's only if you aren't evil, if you are, then there is a section put aside for you to pay back for all the sins you have committed, where those you have wronged await you," she mutters, her eyes misted.

The carriage comes to a slow halt, and we walk out of the carriage, Ash being the last one to walk out. She just motions with her head for us to follow her to the apparition point in Hogsmeade. A silence settles over us as we make our way through the all but deserted streets.

Ash holds her hands out to us, I take one and Draco takes the other, Blaise a link between us. Ash closes her eyes and takes a deep breath and starts the turn. The tightness of apparition fades quickly, and we're standing before the high gates of a sprawling estate. Ash takes a deep breath and passes her hand over the place where the gates came together. The mark on her wrist flaring as the gates swing open.

"Welcome to my home," she says formally, starting to lead us up the drive.

She pauses before a stand of trees, her head bowed in respect. She motions me forward.

"You two, stay here. This is something that we have to do," she says.

I follow her off of the drive into the trees. Set into the wood of one tree was an altar of sorts. The very place was full of magic. She goes to one knee before the altar, then makes a small motion for me to walk up to the altar. The steps I take feel more like I'm being pulled forward by something rather than walking. Of my own volition my hand reaches out and brushes against the altar.

For a second there was nothing, and I felt disappointed that I wouldn't be able to share this connection with Ash, and then I was driven to my knees by power far more than I thought possible. The seconds lengthened into minutes, I felt like I was being tested, my memories paraded in front of me. And then as soon as it happens, it stops. I felt myself gasping for breath, and a sharp pricking pain on the inside of my wrist.

_Welcome home, daughter of my soul,_ a peaceful voice mutters into my head.

I drop to the ground, feeling boneless. I look at the inside of my wrist, was the same marking as was on the inside of Ash's wrist. I was accepted. I laugh breathlessly and hold my wrist out to Ash, showing her.

She just smiles, her face pale and exhausted. She stands up shakily, and offers her hand down to me. I take it, grateful for the help to get back on my feet.

"Tomorrow, a tour of the house, tonight, let's just try and get to the house in one piece," she says breathlessly.

I just nod at her. Leaning on each other like drunks we stumble out of the stand of trees. The boys rush forward to help us once we pass the last of the trees.

I tumble into pleasant darkness the second they reach us.

AT

I couldn't help but laugh. I knew exactly how she was feeling.

"Is she going to be alright?" Draco asks, and I could hear the faint note of panic in his voice.

"She's exhausted, but she'll be just fine. Being measured by the goddess will do that to anyone," I reply.

"I've always thought that he deity that created us would be a man," Blaise comments dryly.

"You're also a male," I retort.

He puffs himself up in mock indignation, trying to look miffed. Eventually he just starts laughing.

"I can see why you like her," Blaise comments to Draco.

"She's one of a kind alright," he remarks distractedly, watching the red head in his arms.

I close my eyes, focusing on the little magic that I could feel. I lay my hand on their shoulders and pull myself towards the house. The boys cry out in fear as the house comes rapidly closer. I stop us just before we hit the front door.

"I'll show you where to put her down, you can claim any room you want. I'll send someone to find you in the morning. No wandering around until I give you the tour, I don't want to find your bones," I tell them, climbing the staircase.

I point out the door to the right of mine, letting Draco go in and put her down before stumbling into my room, closing and locking the door behind me before collapsing on my bed.

DM

"You don't suppose that she was serious about the bones part?" Blaise asks, fear in his voice.

"Her father was a paranoid dark wizard. I wouldn't put anything past him."

Going to a door on the other side of the one that Ash disappeared into, I knew that Blaise was following me.

"Why didn't you ever tell me that you were one too?" he asks as soon as the door shut.

"Because I didn't know. I thought that I was just imagining things. Hell, I thought that I imagined Ash," I reply coldly.

"I can understand that. I mean, I know that she's in the next room, but this has all felt like a huge dream. Being drawn out into the main hall, seeing that."

"You haven't really seen anything yet. When she is in her full power, your very soul will cringe at the sight of it."

"She's that powerful?"

"She's Death."

* * *

A.N. Sorry that it took me so long to get this up. shakes fist at her piles of homework Thank you for your patience, I shall be attempting to update faster. No promises though.


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you to all the people who have reviewed this story, I look forward to reading them all.

As usual, the plot line and Ash are my creations, everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling and associated publishing houses and movie companies.

I hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

GT

The sounds of loud banging and yelling woke me from my sleep. Looking around at my surroundings, it took me just a second to realize where I was. My slow movement sped up when I heard the sounds of my brother's voices in the hallway. I open my door quickly just to move quickly as Ash was thrown into my room with the backlash of a spell.

She stalks out, snarling. I put an arm on her shoulder, cringing at the sheer force of power swirling around her.

"Where is our sister?" Fred yells.

"If you could see past the end of your noses, I'm right here," I say softly.

George quickly grabs my arm and pulls me behind Fred, his wand out and pointed at Ash.

"Stop it you prats, she's not going to hurt me," I hiss, slapping them both on the back of the head, "if she was, would the room that I was staying in be unlocked."

They looked at each other sheepishly.

"Then why would Ron send us a letter that you've been imperio'd and forced to leave the castle against your will?" George asks.

"Because he's an idiot," Ash grinds out slowly, anger still apparent in her movements, "who hangs onto the coattails of his mate for the hope that he will finally find a spotlight for himself, and his best mate has a hero complex and refuses to admit that Slytherins are people too."

The look that Fred and George share could only be considered as one of regret. They knew better than anyone how far into delusions of grandeur those three were. We only manage to get down part of the hallway before Ash stops suddenly, clutching her head.

Her eyes snap to mine, and in those starry black depths, I realize that she was about to lose all the control that she kept wrapped around her so carefully.

"What did you guys do to her?" I ask quietly.

"We had this one experimental spell, makes a person's dreams come to life, none of us have been having the best dreams lately so we haven't been able to test it," Fred says slowly.

There was a cold gush of air as Ash disappears. I stare at where she had been standing just a moment before, cold all the way to my bones.

"What just happened?" George asks.

"It's a far longer story than we can get into right now," Draco drawls from the door to his room, "and some of it is not mine to divulge."

"But let us just hope that when she comes back, she's still not angry at you two. Her anger is the stuff of legends," Blaise comments, moving up next to Draco.

I felt my heart sink a little that those two were so well acquainted that they could share the same room. Then again, they were in the same year as one another, so they must be used to sleeping in the same room as one another.

"I think that we can all do with a spot of breakfast, and the only place that I know to get from here is the main hall and the dining room," Draco says, moving to the front of the little pack of people.

"I would have thought you would know the complete layout of her home," Fred comments.

"Her Father and mine were not the best of friends, and I was only allowed to visit here if there was a meeting in which both of my parents needed to attend. Her Mother refused to have anything to do with the egomaniacal bastard, it wasn't until it could look like an accident did he kill her," Draco comment dryly.

"And then what?" George asks.

"That is not his place to say," Ash comments, standing in the doorway to the dining room.

She walks forward slowly, looking every inch the predator. Fred and George freeze on either side of me, they had the right idea of it.

"Ice, you do have a tendency to talk too much," she says softly.

"I was only giving them a hint as to what they were dealing with," Draco replies.

"You two, have the audacity to attack me in my own home," she snarls at them, "on the word of a brother that you should have known better than to trust. Didn't you also receive the news that Ginerva is no longer part of your family?"

"We never got that letter. It must have gotten lost," Fred mutters, "or stolen."

"Ginerva is our sister, and we thought that she was in danger. We didn't hear anything from her, so we assumed the worst," George comments.

Ash circles them, looking them over from head to toe, I could see it in their eyes that they were fighting the urge to turn with her, keep her in their line of sights.

"Death, I think you're terrifying them," Draco mutters, Ash just motions for him to be silent.

"Fire, how close are you to these brothers?" She mutters finally.

"They are the only ones in the house who saw me for who I was, and did not try to harm me," I answer finally.

She steps up to them and locks her eyes with Fred, George pales as he feels the weight of that stare through his twin bond. I look at Draco, confused.

"She's judging them," he mutters, "it is not an easy thing to go through. If they are found worthy, then nothing bad will happen to them, if they are found wanting…"

Draco didn't need to finish that sentence.

Minutes pass by and finally she breaks her stare, nodding her head. Ash nods her head, and I could see the twins sag in relief.

"Gred," George says.

"Yea Forge," Fred mutters.

"Remind me never to piss her off," George whispers.

"Duly noted."


	13. Chapter 13

GT

I chuckle at the twins' statement.

"Let's have breakfast and then go to the lawyer's office," Ash says, taking a seat at the table, "and then I'll show you guys around here, so you know where to go and where not to go. But until I have the time to go over this beast with a fine tooth comb, I'd prefer it if you didn't wander."

"What do you mean?" George asks.

"Father was a very paranoid dark wizard, who didn't want anyone to sneak around and steal his things, or be where they weren't supposed to be," Ash says, "so there are nasty little things all over the house. So, unless you have a death wish, don't wander."

Fred and George look at each other, and I could see the wheels turning in their head. They were going to find an excuse to wander the house.

"Listen to her on this," I tell them, "if _she's_ saying that it's dangerous, than it's really dangerous."

"But Gin," Fred says.

"No, I don't want to have to explain to the imbeciles you call a family and law enforcement why you died on my property. Though I specifically told you not to wander," Ash cuts in coldly.

"But you have just a high chance of dying," George sulks.

I look at Ash and the others, and suddenly start laughing.

"No, she doesn't," Draco gasps.

"What do you mean by that, of course she has just as high a chance of dying as we do," Fred insists.

There was a brush on my mind, and I open to it, feeling the other three as well.

_:Should we tell them, are they trustworthy?: _ Ash asks.

_:They might be fools, but they are wise fools. They know when to keep a lid on things,: _I mention.

_:Earth, Ice?:_ Ash asks.

_:I have no problem with letting them in on our secret, you did judge them,: _Draco drawls.

_:No problems here as well,: _Blaise finally answers.

"I don't have to fear death, because there is nothing that can really kill me," Ash says out loud.

"Infamous last words," George mutters.

I could feel a charge in the house, as Ash holds out her hand. A knife appears, and I sit up straighter in my chair.

"Oh, this is going to be good," Draco mutters.

"Have you heard about the prophecy, foretelling the end of the Dark Lord?" Ash asks, spinning the knife in her hands.

"Who hasn't heard the prophecy about the boy wonder," Fred answers.

"There was another prophecy, one that came first. About five people, with the power of the elements that will rise up and defeat him, the boy wonder -- just a universal back up plan, one that is proving to be, annoying," Ash begins, "this first prophecy, about these five elemental beings. The first of which is death, and then there's fire and ice, then earth and air."

"Death?" George asks.

Ash unbuttons the shirt she had been wearing, showing a tank top underneath, she drapes it over the arm of my chair.

"Death," Ash confirms, turning the knife in her hand.

She draws it up the skin of her arm, before turning the point and pushing it through. Her face draws up into a grimace for a second. Holding it up so that they could see it, straight through, the twins stand up with a shout, grabbing the napkins off of the table and approach her, Ash brushes them off.

Pulling the knife out, Ash tosses it to the twins gently. They catch it, carefully. She takes a napkin out of their hands and wipes the blood off of her arm, showing that there was no wound left behind. Fred looks at her arm, and then down at the knife. He presses gently against the tip, making sure it isn't fake.

"What are you?" he asks.

"Death, at your service," she says, with a little mocking bow.

"Fire," I say, standing up, bowing as well.

"Ice," Draco says.

"Earth," Blaise says.

Fred and George look at all of us, realizing that they were in way over their heads.

"I take it this information won't leave this room," Ash mutters.

"Does this mean that wonder boy is officially on the dangerous prank list?" they ask in unison.

"Yes, it means that he's on that list. You can get revenge for him cheating on me," I say.

The two of them turn to me, their faces deadly serious, "he cheated on you."

"Multiple times," Ash supplies.

I look at her, "what, know thy enemies. He's the moron who made direct eye contact with no mind barriers."

Ash looks at the clock on the wall, then snaps her fingers. Food appears on the table.

"Alright, eat up you guys. None of you are staying here while we go into Diagon Alley. So I hope you can find something to do, that keeps you out of trouble," she says calmly, sitting back down at the head of the table.

"We have to get back to our shop anyways, we asked a couple people to cover for us," George says, filling his plate with food.

Conversation at the table petered out as everyone focused on eating, and the twins on digesting the information that they had been given.

"How is it, that without house elves, you can control the house?" Draco asks finally.

"This house is the ancestral home of my family, of my bloodline. It was gifted to us, and it listens to the Master or Mistress of the house," she answers, her voice quiet.

"Does that mean it will listen to me as well?" I ask.

"The wing that you choose will listen to you, the kitchens will listen to you, but the entire house only listens to one person," she says.

Fred and George freeze and look at me, "you're going to get a wing, of this house?!" they exclaim in unison.

"She's become a part of my family now," Ash says.

"I choose this, instead of becoming an orphan," I tell them.

"You really did get disowned, didn't you," Fred retorts.

"Yes, I really did," I say.

Fred and George stand up and engulf me in a hug. I wrap my arms around their waists, holding them close.

"Fred, don't you think we're due for a change?" George asks.

"What kind of change are you talking about?" Fred questions.

"A family one," he replies, "that is, if you'll have us."

"If that is what you truly wish, then who am I to deny you," Ash says, laughing, "but if anything is to be done, then we need to get going. And Ice, no cracks about taking in strays, because I can say the same right back."

Ash stood up from the table, picked up her shirt and put it on and walked out of the dining hall and into the entranceway. Everyone was following close behind her, the warnings that she had given still fresh in their minds.

"I'll take us to the gates, and then we can apparate from there to Diagon Alley," she says.

She closes her eyes, and a circle is drawn around us. I felt a slight moment of panic as the doors fly open and suddenly we're at the gates that we had walked through last night. I held onto Ash as she turned, closing my eyes against the uncomfortable feeling of apparition.

When I open them again, we're standing at the entrance to Diagon Alley.

"Everyone else is going to take care of what they need to, and meet us back here in a couple hours," she says, looking at everyone.

They nod their heads and walk away. I stand close to Ash as she makes her way to an imposing building in the business section of Diagon Alley.


	14. Chapter 14

DM

"You're the person that's known Ash the longest, spill," Blaise says when the girls are long out of earshot.

"There is only so much that I can tell you, before she takes my head off and makes it watch my body die," I answer.

Fred and George look at Draco, "Seriously never going to piss her off," they mutter under their breath.

"There has to be something," Blaise presses.

"She never liked her father, she was very close to her mother, until she died that is," Draco begins, "she's always known what she was. I don't think that there was a time when she didn't have that knowledge in the back of her mind. Death, it's an abstract concept to us, but to her, it's a reality. A reality that she was forced to accept."

We wander through the streets of Diagon Alley, the twins stopping in at their joke shop, making sure that everything was running smoothly before stepping out to walk with us again.

I could feel the stares of those around us, wondering why two Weasley's were walking with a Malfoy and a Zabini, but I couldn't really bring myself to care. Slowly my family was being built around me, stronger than the one that I had in my home. It all came back to Ash.

Ash was the first person who befriended him for neither social status nor money. Those things never mattered to her, despite the fact she's sitting on a fortune that made the Malfoy's look like paupers. She was the one who had told him of his place, and how he was destined to end the rule of the Dark Lord. And now, she's building a family around all of them, tying them close with bonds that he could feel would last a lifetime.

"Mate, no matter how long you glare at the stores, they aren't going to catch fire. That's Gin's job," Blaise mutters under his breath.

The twins cackle softly under their breath at Blaise's comment.

"Is there anything in particular that anyone wants?" I say, settling the Malfoy smirk on my face again.

"Other than the death of the Trio. Preferably horribly gruesome and bloody?" George asks lightly.

There was a silence then, as I fight the stunned look on my face that accompanies a Weasley making a comment like that.

"Well, I could use this time to find a costume for the dance. And you should do the same, Draco," Blaise says finally.

"Don't need to look for one. Ash is going to make one for me. If you ask her nicely enough, she might make one for you as well," I tell him.

"Do you really think she would?" He asks, a slightly hopeful gleam in his eye.

"Why wouldn't she? It's one of the few things that she enjoys to do. And she might not make you pay for it either," I comment.

"Do you think I could charm her out of not charging me, if she was going to?" he comments, posing slightly.

I stare at him, and see the twins doing the same out of the corner of my eye.

"Didn't think so," he says finally.

"Let's drop in the Quidditch store, I want to see if they have any new brooms out," I say finally, starting to walk in that direction.

AT

Gin and I walk out of my lawyer's office, everything sorted out and in order. He had already notified Gringott's of the change of vaults, and was the officiator of the ceremony to bring Ginerva permanently into my family.

"So, how does it feel to have more money than Malfoy?" I ask her.

"I didn't know that numbers could go up that high," she says, her voice still shocked.

"Welcome to the upper crust of the upper crust."

"Shall we find the others?"

"If I know Draco, he's probably in the Quidditch store, looking at the new broom models."

"What I wouldn't do for a new broom. I'd rather not try out for the Slytherin team with my antique."

I roll my eyes at her statement.

"Well, the sooner we get there, the sooner you get a new broom," I say decisively.

"No, you don't have to get me a new broom," she says quickly.

I stop walking and look her in the face, "Gin, you saw how much money I have. A new broom is nothing, and I should get you something, a welcome to the family gift."

I ignore her half-hearted protests and continue walking up the street, her following a half step behind. I caught sight of Draco through the window of the store, looking over the quidditch gear.

"And don't be shy to get anything else you might need," I tell her, "this is my treat."

Her jaw drops open at the prospect of new gear and a new broom. I open the door to her, and she walks in, her face excited. I can't help but laugh. Draco turns and looks at us as we walk in, his eyebrow arched.

"That didn't take long," he comments.

"I just told him to summarize it. And then asked him what happened to the body,' I comment, watching Ginerva go over to the brooms.

"What did happen to it?" Blaise asks, coming up on my other side.

"Since it was 'unsure' whether or not I would be able to leave Hogwarts, his 'friends' took care of it, they had him cremated since they couldn't get into the family mausoleum, nor could they get onto the grounds to take what they felt was theirs," I tell them.

"They give you the remains to inter," Draco comments.

"But of course, who else could they give it to?" I quip.

I watch with a small glare as the store clerk tries to maneuver Ginerva away from the Firebolt brooms to the section of cheaper ones. She shakes him off, and stares at him. She flips her wrist up, showing him the inside of her wrist, where the mark resides. The man jumps as if he was burnt, and let her choose her own broom, not making any comment when she chose the most expensive one in the store.

"Are you really going to place him in the family mausoleum?" Draco asks.

"It's too good for him, I'll find something to do with his ashes," I answer.

Gin walks up to us, "well, I've got everything that I need. All we need to do now is pay for it," she says.

"That's my cue," I say as I walk up to the counter.

The man hands me the bill that he had drawn up, and I look over her purchases, signing the bottom of it with a flourish. He hands me the packages, and I shrink them and tuck them into one of my pockets. Walking back to the others, I realize that two were missing.

"What happened to the twins?" I ask finally.

"They had to go back to the store. One of their assistants ran up to them saying that there was someone demanding to see them in the store," Draco says, "so they said that they'd meet up with us later, when whoever it is has left."

We walk out of the store, and start wandering down the street.

GT

As we walk along Diagon Alley, Ash pauses in front of the pet shop. A small kitten wandered up to the window and put its paw up. Ash puts a finger where the paw is, and the kitten puts her nose on it. I sneak a look at Ash's face, and she had a small goofy smile. That was all the answer that I needed.

I walk into the store, unnoticed by the others and walk up to the counter.

"See that kitten standing in front of that girl?" I ask quietly.

"Yea," he says, cocking his head to the side, "she's never done that before."

"How much?"

He looks at me critically for a second, then back at the kitten, "Three Galleons."

"Sold."

He walks up to the window, pulling on large gloves. I snicker quietly to myself at the gloves. He grabs the kitten firmly around the middle, and I could hear the animal growling and hissing at him. It stops when he hands it to me. I give him the money and slip out of the shop, pressing it into Ash's arms. She holds it close and it starts purring.

"You got me something, now I've gotten you something. Even?" I ask.

"Thank you," she says, rubbing her cheek against the small animal.

We continue walking down the street. I pause for a second in front of the Wheezes and I notice the familiar hair of Molly. I keep up with the others.

I ignore the sound of the door being thrown open.

_:Guys, Molly just came out of the twins shop,:_ I broadcast to them, _:shall we ignore her? Humiliate her? What?:_

"Ginerva Molly Weasley! Explain yourself!" She screeches.


	15. Chapter 15

GT

I ignore her.

_:I think that we should just let her humiliate herself,: _Ash comments, _:the majority of the Weasley's are so good at that.:_

There was a sound of someone huffing trying to catch up to us, and I keep facing forward.

"Ginerva Weasley!" she screeches again, this time grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking.

There is a sharp crack as Ash backhands her across the face. Molly pulls back and glares at her. The one glare that could stop the twins up to their worst mischief, but I found it no longer pulled a heart stopping reaction out of me. Ash simply stares at her. Almost like she was waiting for a small child to finish a temper tantrum, knowing that it would eventually end itself and the child would come crawling back for love and attention.

"Who do you think you are?" she hisses, "How dare you strike your elder?"

"My elder, you think yourself my elder. You who dares to harm my sister?" Ash growls.

"Sister? Sister! This ungrateful brat has no sister," Molly sneers, "and I doubt that she would be friends or family with a Death Eater slag like you. I've trained her better."

"That would have been true if you hadn't petitioned to have her removed from their family. Trained her, is she a dog now?" Ash retorts.

"And Ash brought me into hers. I didn't not ask her to, she offered to. And she has been a better family to me than you ever have," I hiss at Molly, "she's shown me what it means to have a true family. She never turned her back on me, like you lot did."

"A true family, them! That's laughable," she growls, "all they're doing is setting you up to fall. They're going to drag you before their Dark Lord and make you take his mark. Right now they're just weaving a web of lies over your eyes. Who would really want _you_ to be family."

I laugh bitterly, "they're the ones going to force me to be something I'm not. They're going to force me down the road to darkness, to madness. You're the one who did that, you're the one who is trying to make me something I'm not. A tame little house mouse, fawning over someone who doesn't want me, who you've stuffed to the brim with lies that were spoon fed from your knee."

"We have never lied to you, we are your family. We have no reason—" Molly begins.

"You have never lied to me! You've spent the past 15 years lying to me," I snarl, "only now, the wool has been pulled off of my eyes."

I could see in her eyes, the moment her patience snaps. She grabs my arm and starts trying to haul me bodily away from my friends.

"That's it," she snaps, her voice authoritative, "we're going to St. Mungo's. They'll sort you out right quick. And I'll make sure they don't let you go until you're in your right mind again."

A hand comes down on Molly's wrist, squeezing until her hand opens and drops my arm. I step back into Ash.

"I think that she's made it very clear that she is not going to go anywhere with you, that she wants nothing to do with you," Ash drawls over my head, "and don't think we'll stand by and let you bully her.

"You gave up your rights to tell her what to do when you took that first step into the ministry. It's done, and now there is nothing that you can do about it. I've _traditionally_ brought her into my family. None of the Weasley blood is left in her veins. Shove off."

She throws her wrist back into her face.

"Come one, we've things to do," Ash says, turning her back on Molly.

A hand on my shoulder turns me as well. We only make it a few steps down the street when Molly whips out her wand. Ash stumbles forward a step, a hex striking her right between the shoulder blades. There was a cold death in Ash's eyes when she turned around to face her again.

"What a noble woman you are," she says sarcastically, "that you cannot even attack me while I am facing you. You have to wait for my back to be turned before you attack."

She takes out her wand and points it at the woman standing so arrogantly in the street, thinking that there was nothing a student could do that she wouldn't be able to handle. With a small flick of the slender piece of wood, Molly found herself on the ground.

"You think me defenseless because I am young and you are wise. When you are not wise, and I am stronger because I am older," Ash continues, "you think that Ginverva has no friends. She does. You think that without you, she has no family. She does. It seems that in the years that she has lived with you, you did not even try to get to know your own daughter. And now, you have lost the chance. If you dare strike me again, I will not hesitate to duel you."

And with that Ash turns and walks to the door of the building, right as she walks through the door I could sense her lifting the spell. She went up to the front desk and tapped to get the receptionist's attention. The woman looked up for a second before indicating that Ash could go through and head up the stairs.

AT

I push away the anger that still is seething below the surface, the point between my shoulder blades still stinging where the spell had hit.

Going up the short flight of stairs to the solicitor's office, I knock only once before walking into the office. He stands up and comes around the desk taking my hand and shaking once gently before doing the same to Ginerva standing behind me.

"Well, this is just a formality. You already know what is going to happen," he says.

He turns and picks up the papers off of his desk.

"I need you to sign these forms" he says, "confirming that everything is as it is supposed to be." He shuffles the papers on his desk again. "And these are the papers to legally bring Ms. Ginny into your family."

I sign the first set of papers that he had handed to me and hand them back quickly. As I set the quill to the second set of papers, I can feel the pressure of Ginny's eyes on me. I smirk as I sign it with a large flourish.


End file.
